The Thrilla in Manila

As of late July, all fan mail for myself and Jen will need to be sent to our new home in Manila, (the Philippines). Here’s how it went down.

We arrived late Thursday in the balmy paradise of Waterloo, Iowa (“dub-town”) via plane and shuttle. Early Friday morning, before the fair even started, we found the hotel rooms of two principals from International School of Manila
Ringo and Jen's New School!, International School of Manila
Instead of interviewing us together, they separated us, which allowed me to tell awesome stories about Jen, most notably the story of when she wrestled her friend Jenny in chocolate pudding. Needless to say, my interviewer was impressed. Jen and I were reunited to meet with the Manila superintendent, a friendly Brit known for inserting long uncomfortable silences after you answered his question.

The intense sequence of the job fair was the part where you go to 500 different tables to sign up for schools/countries that you are interested in, and decline invitations from schools/countries you are not interested in. As you can imagine, having the name of “Ringo” makes you a). An enigma (“I was wondering what this Ringo stuff was all about”—Principal of Thailand) or b). Popular (“With a name like that, how could you NOT want to teach in Mexico?” – staff of Mexico). We turned down several invitations and signed up for a few more interviews.

Kenya sounded exotic, but questioned my chemistry skills (haters). Shanghai had the perfect position for Jen but wanted me to teach 18 different classes and be the janitor also. Thailand’s principal had no job for me, but fell in love with Jen, tried to convince us to break up, and offered to name a wing of the school after her. Obviously, I was holding us back.

That evening we went to the candidate/recruiter social. As a reader, you’re probably thinking, “Sweet. This is the part where Ringo ends up going streaking or break dancing to a Lionel Richie song.” You will be disappointed to hear that nothing of the sort happened. I did however feel like a rock star when unfamiliar recruiters would come up and say “Ringo! The physics teacher! Let me talk to you about Saudi Arabia.” I was saved from this particular conversation when the Saudi recruiter asked about my wife. Upon learning that Jen and I will live in sin, he told me good luck with my eternal soul and that I should speak with Bangkok (it makes a hard man crumble).

Seeing that we had drinks in hand, the recruiters from Manila saw that the iron was hot, and called us over to their table. They offered us the positions. Knowing that it was only a matter of time before they Googled mine or Jen’s name (pictures are worth a 1000 lost jobs), we decided to sign quickly. Done. Woooooooooo!

So for Saturday and Sunday we were in Waterloo, Iowa with no car, no responsibility, and shit to do. We walked around the convention center some, but when people are still stressed out interviewing, and you just got hired in 12 hours, no one likes you. So we hung out in our hotel and told ourselves how awesome we were.

Awesome details of the job: I teach physics and Jen teaches middle school English. We get paid about the same as we do in Denver, EXCEPT…..
• We don’t pay taxes.
• The school pays our rent.
• We don’t need a car.
• Cost of living is crazy-go-nuts low (50 cents for a local beer).
• Our flight over and back is paid for.
• It is expected that you will employ a maid. Wow.

This is the time during the blog, when, if I were clever enough, the “Movin’ on up” song from The Jefferson’s would play. Please sing this in your head, and Gants will email me on how to make this happen in the future.

I think we leave in July sometime.